Sunday, November 2, 2008

Proof' David slew Goliath found as Israeli archaeologists unearth 'oldest ever Hebrew text'


By Matthew Kalman

Astounding new evidence has been unearthed in Israel that could confirm the biblical story of King David.

Until now, almost nothing has been found  that would prove the biblical account of a shepherd boy from the 10th century BC who slew the giant Goliath and went on to become the King of Israel who founded Jerusalem.

But today Hebrew University archaeology professor Yosef Garfinkel announced the discovery of a tiny, but potentially invaluable, piece of pottery at the site of the ruins of an ancient fortified city south-west of Jerusalem dated to the time of King David.

Enlarge   Proof: Yossi Garfinkel displays the ceramic shard bearing a Hebrew inscription that may be evidence King David slew Goliath

Yossi Garfinkel displays the ceramic shard bearing a Hebrew inscription that may be evidence supporting the biblical story of David and Goliath

Garfinkel said that it carried the earliest-known Hebrew inscription, some 850 years  earlier than the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Scholars are still trying to decipher the full text of the inscription, but Garfinkel said they are excited at the prospect of a link to David because they have already translated the words for "king," "judge," and  "slave" , which he said suggested it was some sort of official note from the time of his reign.

Until now, scholars have been unable to say whether King David was indeed the  heroic, psalm-composing monarch depicted in the Bible or the local and unimportant leader of a small tribe.

Enlarge   The archaeological site called Elah Fortress, or Khirbet Qeiyafa, seen in an undated aerial photograph, where the shard was found

The archaeological site called Elah Fortress, or Khirbet Qeiyafa, seen in an undated aerial photograph, where the shard was found

Only one biblical-era inscription with the words "House of David" has ever been  discovered, leading some scholars to question whether King David existed at all.

The pottery fragment was inscribed with five rows of text in black ink divided by black lines written in an early Hebrew-Canaanite script.

 

Archaeologists also found lamps, pottery jars and other items. Carbon-14 tests  carried out at Oxford University dated them to the 10th century BC, the era according to the Old Testament of King David and his son Solomon, who built the Temple in Jerusalem.

The ruins of the Elah Valley fortress was discovered  in 2003 near the modern Israeli city of Beit Shemesh in the Judean Hills, south-west of  Jerusalem. The huge complex is spread over nearly six acres and surrounded by a 700-metre long city wall built with stones weighing up to eight tons each. 

Bible come true? David with the head of Goliath by William Daniels

Bible come true? David with the head of Goliath by William Daniels

Enlarge   Yossi Garfinkel is seen at the excavation site

Yossi Garfinkel is seen at the excavation site

Detailed excavations began only earlier this year.

The fortress would have controlled the ancient trading route from Jerusalem to the coast and overlooks the plain where David engaged in his legendary mortal combat with Goliath, giant champion of the rival Philistines.

Goliath's home town of Gath was unearthed just a few miles away to the south.

"The chronology and geography of Elah Fortress create a unique meeting point between the history, historiography and origins of the early Davidic Kingdom," said Garfinkel.

"This is the oldest Judean city  uncovered to date, and its very construction has unprecedented implications on our understanding of this era." 

Garfinkel said the sophistication and size of the city suggested it was part of  a strong, centrally-planned kingdom.

It has been a busy week for archaeologists searching for King David and his family. In Jerusalem, a researcher said she had found an ancient water drain mentioned in the Bible as the route used by David's forces to capture the city  from the Jebusites.

In Jordan, scholars said they had uncovered an ancient  copper excavation site that tests showed could be the legendary King Solomon's Mines.










Wednesday, October 29, 2008

What happened at Lambeth 2008


THE 2008 LAMBETH CONFERENCE of Anglican bishops in Canterbury July 16-August 3 was a milestone in this march of relativism. While nothing extraordinary happened - no fist fights or beatific visions - a number of prelates came away from Lambeth realizing the Anglican Communion no longer worked. Its structures were not a place for holy men, but for hollow men: bishops who knew in their hollow hearts they were stuffed with straw, trapped in a purposeless whirl of apathy and spiritual torpor called "dialogue." The Anglican Communion had finally broken, coming to an end "not with a bang but a whimper."

While past Lambeth Conferences have endeavored to speak clearly on matters of common concern as a guide to the global church, Lambeth 2008 was designed to, and did, decline to draw the line between the irreconcilable claims of the left and right. Gene Robinson's cry that "God is doing a new thing," and that the affirmation of his election as Bishop of New Hampshire showed that "God has once again brought an Easter out of Good Friday," was left to stand alongside the claims of traditionalists like Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker, who argued that the standard the church must use in moving forward with change was the rule of Vincent of Lerins: a once-for-all received faith, witnessed everywhere and by all. Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est.

While the liberal juggernaut has ground through The Episcopal Church (TEC) over the past generation, carrying prayer book revision and women's ordination with it across the 38-province Anglican Communion, Vincent's 5th century rule had been consistently applied to questions of sexual ethics. At the 13th Lambeth Conference in 1998, bishops of the Communion affirmed by a 7 to 1 margin the church's traditional teaching on human sexuality, as informed by Scripture and the church's unbroken teaching of 2,000 years.

The onus lies with those who seek change to convince the church of the need for it, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, explained after Lambeth '98. Listening to proponents of change acknowledges their honorable motives, he told the clergy of the Diocese of Central Florida in 2003, but entering into a conversation with them does not validate their arguments.

"Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent," George Orwell once wrote of Gandhi, and the same standard applies in the development of doctrine, Lord Carey argued. However, the 14th Lambeth Conference under the presidency of Archbishop Rowan Williams said goodbye to all that.

AT LAMBETH '08, Dr. Williams lost the confidence of his fellow archbishops, and left the Communion millions in debt, and on the same trajectory as before the Conference began. Left and right have rejected his pleas for restraint, vitiating the renewed call in Canterbury for moratoria on gay bishops and blessings and cross-border episcopal actions, pending putative rescue by an Anglican Covenant at some uncertain date. New layers of bureaucracy suggested at Lambeth (e.g. a "Pastoral Forum" and "Faith and Order Commission") remain to be developed at a time when many saw stronger measures to restore order as overdue. Meanwhile, Roman Catholic and Orthodox representatives announced the effective end of talks aimed at corporate reunion and the recognition of Anglican orders.

Philosophically, the Lambeth Conference witnessed the retirement of the historic Anglican guides of Scripture, Tradition and reason in divining truth. Scripture was subordinated to experience and culture, reason rejected in favor of political power, and Tradition debased into equal parts antiquarianism and haberdashery.

Click to read full report

Some Regulations coming into force in UK in October 2008


Employment Bill

On 6 December 2007 the Employment Bill was published in the House of Lords. It aims to simplify, clarify and develop a stronger enforcement regime for certain aspects of employment law. Provisions include:

  • changes to the law relating to dispute resolution in the workplace as a response to the Gibbons review. This will include:
  • repealing the current statutory dispute resolution procedures and related provisions about procedural unfairness in dismissal cases,
  • changes to the law relating to conciliation by Acas  
  • revision of the Acas code on discipline and grievance and tribunals will be able to adjust awards by 25% where parties have unreasonably failed to follow the code, 
  • the delivery of a more straightfoward and transparent enforcement and penalties regime for the national minimum wage (NMW) and employment agency standards, 
  • compliance with the European Court of Human Rights decision in Aslef v UK which concerned the rights of trade unions to determine their members.

Will apply to Great Britain, but the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, which is amended in clauses 8 to 13 also extends to Northern Ireland.

No implementation date has been given but the Bill is likely to come into force in April 2009.

The text of the Bill, explanatory notes and details of its progress through Parliament are available on the Parliament website.

More information on the Bill can be found on the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) website.

Details of the revised Acas code are available in the Codes of practice section. Acas has published draft non-statutory guidance to complement the code.

Education and Skills Bill

The Bill was published on 29 November 2007 and aims to meet the ambition set out in the Leitch Review of achieving world class skills by 2020. Key proposals include:

  • raising education or training leaving age to 17 years by 2013 and to 18 years by 2015
  • giving adults a right to basic and intermediate skills and enabling the benefits of adult skills to be measured.

Will apply to the United Kingdom.

The text of the Bill, explanatory memorandum and details of its progress through Parliament are available on the Parliament website.

Additional paternity leave

In March 2006 the Government published a consultation paper on how to implement the scheme under the Work and Families Act 2006 which will allow employed fathers to take up to 26 weeks Additional Paternity Leave (APL), some of which could be paid if the mother has returned to work. The Government intends to introduce the scheme alongside the extension of statutory maternity pay and statutory adoption pay to twelve months. Consultation ended on 31 March 2006.

In November 2006 the Government published its response to the consultation. The response and further information is available on the Department Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website.

In May 2007 the Government launched a further consultation on the administration of APL following the November 2006 response. Employed fathers (including civil partners or adoptive parents) will be able to take up to 26 weeks additional paternity leave, some of which can be paid if the mother of the child returns to work. Consultation ended on 3 August 2007. The earliest date that the leave would be implemented would be for babies due on or after 5 April 2009, but this was not definite. In January 2008 the Government published its response to the consultation. The consultation paper and Government response is available on the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website.




Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Church makes ‘ludicrous’ apology to Charles Darwin - 126 years after his death

In his Autobiography, Darwin wrote,

"Formerly I was led... to the firm conviction of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul. In my Journal I wrote that whilst standing in the midst of the grandeur of a Brazilian forest, 'it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, admiration, and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind.' I well remember my conviction that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body. But now the grandest scenes would not cause any such convictions and feelings to rise in my mind."

In 1880, in reply to a correspondent, Charles wrote, "I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation, & therefore not in Jesus Christ as the Son of God"

If the church of England is offering an apology to such a person, it has drited too far and is seriously compromising its faith which is a pity for all members who call themselves Anglicans.

Church makes 'ludicrous' apology to Charles Darwin - 126 years after his death

By Jonathan Petre
Last updated at 10:45 PM on 13th September 2008

The Church of England will tomorrow officially apologise to Charles Darwin for misunderstanding his theory of evolution.

In a bizarre step, the Church will address its contrition directly to the Victorian scientist himself, even though he died 126 years ago.

But the move was greeted with derision last night, with Darwin's great-great-grandson dismissing it as 'pointless' and other critics branding it 'ludicrous'.

CHARLES DARWIN
Rowan Williams

A meeting of minds: Charles Darwin and, right, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams

Church officials compared the apology to the late Pope John Paul II's decision to say sorry for the Vatican's 1633 trial of Galileo, the astronomer who appalled prelates by declaring that the earth revolved around the sun.

The officials said that senior bishops wanted to atone for the vilification their predecessors heaped on Darwin in the 1860s, when he put forward his theory that man was descended from apes.

The Church is also anxious to counter the view that its teaching is incompatible with science. It wants to distance itself from fundamentalist Christians, who believe in the Biblical account of the creation of the world in seven days.

An article to be posted on the Church's website will say: 'Charles Darwin, 200 years from your birth [in 1809], the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still.

'But the struggle for your reputation is not over yet, and the problem is not just your religious opponents but those who falsely claim you in support of their own interests.'

The article has been written by the Rev Dr Malcolm Brown, the director of mission and public affairs of the Archbishops' Council, the Church's managing body, which is headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

Origin of Species

Revolutionary: Darwin's best-known book, published in 1859

Dr Brown writes: 'People, and institutions, make mistakes and Christian people and Churches are no exception. When a big new idea emerges that changes the way people look at the world, it's easy to feel that every old idea, every certainty, is under attack and then to do battle against the new insights.

'The Church made that mistake with Galileo's astronomy and has since realised its error. Some Church people did it again in the 1860s with Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection.

'So it is important to think again about Darwin's impact on religious thinking, then and now.'

Dr Brown argues that there is nothing incompatible between the scientific theories adopted by Darwin and Christian teaching.

The English naturalist, geologist and collector, best known for his 1859 book On The Origin Of Species, scandalised Victorian society with his theory that all species of life evolved from common ancestors.

One of the most venomous clashes over his ideas took place in 1860 during a debate at Oxford University. The Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, asked the evolutionist and Darwin champion, Thomas Huxley, whether it was through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed to be descended from a monkey.

Huxley replied that he would not be ashamed to have an ape for his ancestor but he would be ashamed to be connected with a man who used his gifts to obscure the truth.

In his article, Dr Brown writes: 'His [Darwin's] theory caused offence because it challenged the view that God had created human beings as an entirely different kind of creation to the rest of the animal world.

'But while it is not difficult to see why evolutionary thinking was offensive at the time, on reflection it is not such an earth-shattering idea.'

The Church's move will reignite the debate over creationism. In the United States, Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin argues that it should be taught in schools.

In this country, the Rev Professor Michael Reiss, a biologist director of education at the Royal Society, provoked a furore last week when he called for creationism to be treated in school science lessons as a legitimate world view.

Ann Widdecombe

Ann Widdecombe: 'We've already apologised for slavery and the Crusades. When is it all going to stop?'

Last night, the Church, which apologised for its role in the slave trade two years ago, came in for fierce criticism for its latest mea culpa.

Former Conservative Minister Ann Widdecombe, who left the Church of England to become a Roman Catholic, said: 'It's absolutely ludicrous. Why don't we have the Italians apologising for Pontius Pilate?

'We've already apologised for slavery and for the Crusades. When is it all going to stop? It's insane and makes the Church of England look ridiculous.'

Andrew Darwin, a great-great grandson of the eminent scientist, said he was 'bemused' by the apology, which seemed 'pointless'.

'Why bother?' he said. 'When an apology is made after 200 years, it's not so much to right a wrong, but to make the person or organisation making the apology feel better.'

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Association, said: 'It does seem rather crazy for an institution to address an apology to an individual so long after his death.

'As well as being much too late, the message strikes me as insincere, as if there is an unspoken "but" behind the text.

'However, if it means that from now on the Church of England will say "No" to the teaching of creationism in school science lessons, then we would accept the apology on Darwin's behalf.'

A less critical tone was struck by Horace Barlow, 87, from Cambridge, who is Darwin's great-grandson.

He said he thought his ancestor would have been pleased to hear the Church's apology.

'They buried him in Westminster Abbey, which I suppose was an apology of sorts,' said Mr Barlow.

'Darwin was very concerned about offending other people as his wife Emma was a committed Christian. So I think this apology would have pleased him.'




Thursday, September 4, 2008

Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory


Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory

KANSAS CITY, KS—As the debate over the teaching of evolution in public schools continues, a new controversy over the science curriculum arose Monday in this embattled Midwestern state. Scientists from the Evangelical Center For Faith-Based Reasoning are now asserting that the long-held "theory of gravity" is flawed, and they have responded to it with a new theory of Intelligent Falling.
  Evangelical

Rev. Gabriel Burdett explains Intelligent Falling.

"Things fall not because they are acted upon by some gravitational force, but because a higher intelligence, 'God' if you will, is pushing them down," said Gabriel Burdett, who holds degrees in education, applied Scripture, and physics from Oral Roberts University.

Burdett added: "Gravity—which is taught to our children as a law—is founded on great gaps in understanding. The laws predict the mutual force between all bodies of mass, but they cannot explain that force. Isaac Newton himself said, 'I suspect that my theories may all depend upon a force for which philosophers have searched all of nature in vain.' Of course, he is alluding to a higher power."

Founded in 1987, the ECFR is the world's leading institution of evangelical physics, a branch of physics based on literal interpretation of the Bible.

According to the ECFR paper published simultaneously this week in the International Journal Of Science and the adolescent magazine God's Word For Teens!, there are many phenomena that cannot be explained by secular gravity alone, including such mysteries as how angels fly, how Jesus ascended into Heaven, and how Satan fell when cast out of Paradise.

The ECFR, in conjunction with the Christian Coalition and other Christian conservative action groups, is calling for public-school curriculums to give equal time to the Intelligent Falling theory. They insist they are not asking that the theory of gravity be banned from schools, but only that students be offered both sides of the issue "so they can make an informed decision."

"We just want the best possible education for Kansas' kids," Burdett said.

Proponents of Intelligent Falling assert that the different theories used by secular physicists to explain gravity are not internally consistent. Even critics of Intelligent Falling admit that Einstein's ideas about gravity are mathematically irreconcilable with quantum mechanics. This fact, Intelligent Falling proponents say, proves that gravity is a theory in crisis.

"Let's take a look at the evidence," said ECFR senior fellow Gregory Lunsden."In Matthew 15:14, Jesus says, 'And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.' He says nothing about some gravity making them fall—just that they will fall. Then, in Job 5:7, we read, 'But mankind is born to trouble, as surely as sparks fly upwards.' If gravity is pulling everything down, why do the sparks fly upwards with great surety? This clearly indicates that a conscious intelligence governs all falling."

Critics of Intelligent Falling point out that gravity is a provable law based on empirical observations of natural phenomena. Evangelical physicists, however, insist that there is no conflict between Newton's mathematics and Holy Scripture.

"Closed-minded gravitists cannot find a way to make Einstein's general relativity match up with the subatomic quantum world," said Dr. Ellen Carson, a leading Intelligent Falling expert known for her work with the Kansan Youth Ministry. "They've been trying to do it for the better part of a century now, and despite all their empirical observation and carefully compiled data, they still don't know how."

"Traditional scientists admit that they cannot explain how gravitation is supposed to work," Carson said. "What the gravity-agenda scientists need to realize is that 'gravity waves' and 'gravitons' are just secular words for 'God can do whatever He wants.'"

Some evangelical physicists propose that Intelligent Falling provides an elegant solution to the central problem of modern physics.

"Anti-falling physicists have been theorizing for decades about the 'electromagnetic force,' the 'weak nuclear force,' the 'strong nuclear force,' and so-called 'force of gravity,'" Burdett said. "And they tilt their findings toward trying to unite them into one force. But readers of the Bible have already known for millennia what this one, unified force is: His name is Jesus."



Friday, August 15, 2008

Pope John Paul II and Suffering


Jack Wintz, O.F.M.

When Our Son Told Us He Was Gay



It is no secret that Karol Wojtyla, as a young man and even during the early years of his pontificate, was a picture of health, vigor and vitality. As an athlete skilled in soccer, swimming, canoeing and skiing, he exhibited a great physical presence.

During his papal trip to the United States in 1979, he rode through Manhattan in the back of a limousine with an opening in the roof that allowed him to be visible to the crowd from the waist up. He was in excellent physical condition, waving to the crowds with just the right amount of drama as the vehicle moved slowly along. (This was before the 1981 assassination attempt in Rome and the days of the "popemobile," with its bulletproof glass protecting the pope.)

These are all reminders of John Paul's healthier days when he had all the physical stamina and charm any human could want. The pope did regain—for a time—his health and vigor after recuperating from the 1981 assassination attempt.

In the early 90s, however, a series of health problems began to take their toll. In 1992, the pope had colon surgery, involving removal of a noncancerous tumor. The next year he fell and dislocated a shoulder. In 1994, he suffered a broken femur in another fall. An appendectomy followed in 1996. During these years, moreover, a Parkinson-like condition, if not the disease itself, began to reveal its visible effects.

The point of these sobering details is to show that John Paul was clearly entering the part of his life's journey marked by failing health and suffering.

Describing the Holy Father in the fall of 1998, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stated: "The pain is written on his face. His figure is bent, and he needs to support himself on his pastoral staff. He leans on the cross, on the crucifix...." Certainly John Paul was beginning to lean on Christ's cross in more ways than one.

Click to read the full article





Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Top 10 Tips For Handling Redundancies


The "credit crunch" is being felt across the country. In the City of London workers are facing unprecedented lay-offs as banks and other employers react to the slow-down by making redundancies in swathes.

Redundancies are a way of life in the City. As one employer is firing, it is not uncommon to find another one hiring, so people can often move from job to job. However, unlike past lay-off situations, few organisations are recruiting at the moment and so employees are more willing to fight for their jobs. They are equally determined to fight for compensation if they are unsuccessful.

Employers need to take care to manage the dismissal process correctly to protect against the inevitable legal claims to come. Here are some tips for getting it right.


1. Document 'fair' reason
In any dismissal, the employer must show there was a "fair" reason for it – redundancy is, of course, a fair reason. Make sure that you have evidence to prove to a tribunal that a redundancy situation really did exist, and that the employee in question's job really disappeared as a result.

2. Justify selection criteria
One of the key battlegrounds in any redundancy situation is selection. Make sure your selection criteria are capable of being objectively justified. Reasons such as being a "good team player" and "popular with clients" are too subjective to stand up in a tribunal as they are often based simply on the personal views of line managers.

3. Don't discriminate
Ensure that redundancy selection criteria are non-discriminatory – in other words, they don't make it harder for any particular groups of employees to score highly. For example, if attendance is a criterion, make sure you exclude maternity-related absence.

4. Consult employees
A fair procedure is all about consultation. Make sure you build in sufficient opportunities to consult employees in one-to-one meetings so that you can explore reasons for their selection and the possibilities for avoiding dismissals properly.

5. Build a flexible timetable
A sensible timetable is an important part of a redundancy process – but make sure you build in enough flexibility to allow employees to come back for more meetings where there are issues to discuss, or where extra information is needed. These are bound to make the process longer. Failure to allow enough time can lead to allegations that the process was a sham, and that decisions had been made in advance.

6. Gather ideas
Discuss selection not only with the employees selected for redundancy but also with their colleagues who have survived that particular round. These employees may have ideas of their own that could help reduce the need for dismissals. For example, someone not selected for redundancy may wish to take voluntary redundancy or opt for a job share – this could save someone else's job.

7. Adhere to procedures
A fundamental part of any dismissal is adherence to the statutory dispute resolution procedures. These require employers to invite employees to a meeting to discuss the proposed redundancy, allowing them to bring a colleague or trade union representative in with them. Employers must listen to employees' concerns, tell them the outcome of the meeting in writing, and allow them to appeal. If the employees do appeal, they must be invited to a new meeting with a manager not involved in the hearing. Again, employees have the right to be accompanied, and employers must confirm the outcome in writing. Failure to do so will make the dismissal automatically unfair.

8. Look at employment options
Employers are obliged to consider the availability of suitable alternative work. You should provide full details of any vacancies so that employees can evaluate the opportunity properly.

9. Air any grievances early
For many higher-paid workers the prospect of an unfair dismissal claim is not going to appeal since compensation is capped at £63,000. To claim worthwhile compensation, these employees need to include a claim for which compensation is uncapped, such as discrimination. Make sure that as part of the consultation process, all employees are given a chance to air their grievances before being selected for redundancy. If an employee does raise one of these issues, ensure you investigate fully before making the dismissal.

10. Check contracts
Likewise, there may be disputes over unpaid bonuses or future loss of bonus or stock options. Check employees' contracts, and bonus and stock option scheme rules, to see if the termination plans and timing trigger financial entitlements. Keep a grip on the timetable to make sure, for example, that employment doesn't continue longer than originally intended so that the employee is inadvertently still employed on the date a bonus is due.

From CIPD sources

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Human Rights Weekly Digest


Human Rights Watch Weekly Digest
        May 9th - 16th, 2008
© 2008 HRW Report Cover
Historic Decision Confers Equal Right to Marriage to Same-Sex Couples
(New York, May 15, 2008) – The California Supreme Court's ruling today striking down state law that limits marriage to opposite-sex couples is a victory for equality that should set a national and international example, Human Rights Watch said today.
Read more   

States Should Resist Weakening Treaty in Any Way
(Dublin, May 16, 2008) – The more than 100 countries that will gather in Dublin, Ireland on May 19 to negotiate a new international treaty aimed at banning cluster munitions should reject attempts to weaken the treaty, Human Rights Watch said today. Participating countries are scheduled to adopt the final text of the treaty on May 30.
Read more   

Two Years After UN Ruling, No Action on Former Chad Dictator
(Geneva, May 16, 2008) РTwo years after a United Nations committee requested that Senegal prosecute or extradite the former dictator of Chad, Hiss̬ne Habr̩, no action has been taken, six human rights organizations said today. Habr̩ fled to Senegal after he was deposed in 1990.
Read more   

© 2008 HRW Report Cover
Overseas Integration Test Infringes on Rights of Migrants
(The Hague, May 15, 2008) – The Netherlands should abolish the overseas "integration test" that discriminatorily targets only migrants of certain nationalities trying to join their families, while citizens from other, "western" countries are exempt, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today.
Read more   


Friday, May 16, 2008

Infinite Crisis


Having heard so much about Infinite Crisis, I wanted to read it, but I first had to read Crisis on Infinite Earths. Having finished that last month, I was elated to find a copy of the collection of the mini-series Infinite Crisis at Bishan Community Library.

Infinite Crisis is a vast improvement, in terms of storyline, over Crisis on Infinite Earths It is a lot more violent as well, with decapitations and dismemberments, which I rarely see in D.C. comics to this extent.

One definitely has to read Crisis on Infinite Earths before embarking on Infinite Crisis however, as the villains of Infinite Crisis are really the heroes of Crisis on Infinite Earths, namely, Earth-Two's Superman, Earth-Three's Alexander Luthor, and Earth Prime's Superboy.

As far as I can tell, Earth Prime is a world where the only superhero is Superboy. Earth Three is where Lex Luthor is the only superhero in a world of supervillains, and Alexander Luthor is his son saved from the end of the world in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Earth Two's Superman belongs in a purer world, compared to Earth-One, which is the world that existed for the 20 years between Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis. It is a more innocent world where the good guys are really good, and the good guys always win in the end.

After observing the years in between Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis, Alexander Luthor decides to create the perfect world and manipulates Earth-Two's Superman into believing that Earth-Two is the perfect world to be recreated.

This illusion is shattered only when Earth-One's Superman reveals a stunning truth: Any world belonging to a Superman is not perfect because a perfect world doesn't need a Superman.

A major part of the plot involves comparing the older, purer world before COIE and the newer, more violent, and darker world post-Crisis on Infinite Earths. It is a D.C.U. (D.C. Universe) which my parents frequently complain about - where the good guys are not really good, and the bad guys are not really bad, and the moral line between good and evil is blurred.

Infinite Crisis is a great read, especially for those who, like Earth-Two's Superman, long for the older, purer world.



Monday, May 12, 2008

Pope calls for a new Pentecost to launch renewal of American Church

Apr 19, 2008 - Six thousand people flocked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York this morning for a Mass that Pope Benedict celebrated for clergy and religious. In his homily, Benedict XVI called for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church in America so that it can overcome divisions and allow all of its gifts to be spent for the sake of spreading the Gospel.

After thanking Cardinal Egan for his welcome and recalling the examples of the pioneers of the Catholic Church in America, Pope Benedict turned to the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

“As we give thanks for past blessings, and look to the challenges of the future, let us implore from God the grace of a new Pentecost for the Church in America. May tongues of fire, combining burning love of God and neighbor with zeal for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom, descend on all present!” he exclaimed.

The Pontiff then pointed to the example of the late Cardinals Cooke and O’Connor whose “heroic witness to the Gospel of life” should inspire this kind of zeal. “The proclamation of life, life in abundance, must be the heart of the new evangelization,” the Pope said.

“This is the message of hope we are called to proclaim and embody in a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence, and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people’s hearts,” the Holy Father encouraged.

Pope Benedict said that the challenge in some ways is to bring this message of life in abundance to “a society where the Church seems legalistic and ‘institutional’ to many people.” The Church’s “most urgent challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith and the experience of God’s love”, he said.

He then turned the congregation’s attention to different aspects of the architecture of St. Patrick’s.

Noting how from the outside the stained glass windows appear dim but from the inside of the Church their true beauty is revealed, the Pope said, that communicating the joy and love of God “is no easy task in a world which can tend to look at the Church, like those stained glass windows, ‘from the outside’”.

Besides a spiritual conversion, Benedict XVI explained that an “‘intellectual’ conversion” is necessary to be able to discern “the signs of the times, and our personal contribution to the Church’s life and mission”.

“For all of us, I think, one of the great disappointments which followed the Second Vatican Council, with its call for a greater engagement in the Church’s mission to the world, has been the experience of division between different groups, different generations, different members of the same religious family,” Benedict said.

The solution to these divisions, the way to move forward, Benedict explained, is “if we turn our gaze together to Christ!” Turning away from division and towards Christ, is the way that true spiritual renewal will occur, the Holy Father said.

Pope Benedict once again brought up the sexual abuse scandal in the context of striving for unity.

“I would like say a word about the sexual abuse that has caused so much suffering. I have already had occasion to speak of this, and of the resulting damage to the community of the faithful. Here I simply wish to assure you, dear priests and religious, of my spiritual closeness as you strive to respond with Christian hope to the continuing challenges that this situation presents.”

Benedict drew attention back to the architectural structure to make his final point.

“The unity of a Gothic cathedral, we know, is not the static unity of a classical temple, but a unity born of the dynamic tension of diverse forces which impel the architecture upward, pointing it to heaven. Here too, we can see a symbol of the Church’s unity, which is the unity – as Saint Paul has told us – of a living body composed of many different members, each with its own role and purpose. For the Spirit never ceases to pour out his abundant gifts, to awaken new vocations and missions, and to guide the Church, as our Lord promised in this morning’s Gospel, into the fullness of truth.”

“So let us lift our gaze upward!” the Pope called out.

Calling on the Holy Spirit to help the Church grow in holiness, he added, “If we are to be true forces of unity, let us be the first to seek inner reconciliation through penance. Let us forgive the wrongs we have suffered and put aside all anger and contention. Let us be the first to demonstrate the humility and purity of heart which are required to approach the splendor of God’s truth. In fidelity to the deposit of faith entrusted to the Apostles, let us be joyful witnesses of the transforming power of the Gospel!”

Pope Benedict closed by calling on American Catholics to “go forth as heralds of hope in the midst of this city, and all those places where God’s grace has placed us. In this way, the Church in America will know a new springtime in the Spirit, and point the way to that other, greater city, the new Jerusalem, whose light is the Lamb For there God is even now preparing for all people a banquet of unending joy and life. Amen.”

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Labour Law- Key Cases


Unfair dismissal

Airbus UK v Webb
(unreported, EWCA Civ 49, 7 February 2008, CA)

Five employees were found guilty of misconduct for misusing company time (by watching television during working hours). Four employees were given final written warnings, but one employee was dismissed. This was because he had been given a final written warning for a similar act of misconduct thirteen months earlier. The warning had expired three weeks before the second act of misconduct. The employee brought an unfair dismissal claim which was upheld by an employment tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).

The Court of Appeal (CA) over turned the decision of the EAT, and held that the employee was not unfairly dismissed because the employer had relied on an expired warning. In a previous case Diosynth Ltd v Thomson [2006] IRLR 284 CS it was held that a spent warning should be ignored for all purposes. However the CA said that Diosynth was only authority for stating that it would be unreasonable for an employer to rely on an expired warning as a principle reason for dismissal. The CA also stated that under Diosynth the expired warning 'tipped the balance' in favour of dismissal (as other factors taken together would not have justified dismissal), but in the present case the employee was dismissed mainly because of his misconduct and not because of the expired warning.

Implications for employers:
  • Employers who take expired warnings into account before implementing a dismissal will not necessarily have unfairly dismissed the employee. However, such a practice is still very risky.
  • As a matter of best practice employers should not rely on expired warnings, especially not as the principal reason for dismissal.
  • If an employer does rely on an expired warning and there is also underlying misconduct, it may be reasonable to take the warning into account as well -provided that the subsequent misconduct is sufficient to warrant dismissal in its own right.

Stress

Deadman v Bristol City Council
[2007] IRLR 888 CA

A council employee was accused of sexual harassment. The council's policy was that all harassment claims should be sensitively dealt with and investigated by a three-person panel. However, the investigation was carried out by a two-person panel and the employee raised a grievance. The council upheld his grievance, but left a letter on his desk informing him that the claims would be investigated by a three-person panel. The employee went off sick with depression and did not return to work. He then brought a personal injury claim. He argued, based on several Council documents that were not in his employment contract, that the Council had a contractual obligation to act sensitively and had failed to do so by merely leaving the letter on his desk telling him that the matter would be re-investigated.His claim was upheld by the High Court which held that the council was in breach of the employment contract and that it was reasonably foreseeable that such a breach would case a psychiatric illness.

This decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal which held that the use of a two-person panel was in breach of contract but it was not reasonably foreseeable that this would cause the employee a psychiatric illness.

Implications for employers:

  • Employers will only be vulnerable to such claims if the harm suffered by the employee was a reasonably foreseeable result of the employer's actions.
  • At the very least, employers should follow their own policies and procedures and any statutory procedures carefully.
  • If employers implement contractual procedures, very careful attention should be paid to the wording as there may be a contractual term that the employer must follow its published procedure to the letter in the investigation of any complaints made against the employee.
  • Employers will always be subject to the implied obligation of mutual trust and confidence, and the duty to take reasonable care, but any damage suffered by an employee must still be reasonably foreseeable.

Sex discrimination

Madarassy v Nomura International plc 
[2007] IRLR 246, CA)

The Court of Appeal held that an employer is not obliged to prove that an employee was treated fairly once she had established that as a pregnant woman she had been discriminated against.

The employee, a banker, who claimed that she had suffered discrimination while pregnant went on maternity leave in March 2001. She also claimed that when she was on maternity leave she was not informed that her department was being restructured which put her at a disadvantage in the restructuring and redundancy process. In November 2001 she was dismissed for redundancy. She brought £1 million proceedings for discrimination citing 33 allegations. These allegations were dismissed by the employment tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal, apart from one concerning the employer's failure to carry out a health and safety assessment relating to her pregnancy.

The Court of Appeal had to decide what degree of unfair behaviour an employee was required to establish to transfer the burden of proof onto the employer to prove that it did not act unfairly. The Court of Appeal concluded that there had to be more than a set of circumstances where the tribunal could 'conclude' discrimination. Differences in status and treatment were not sufficient to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. It also ruled that the employer was correct in not carrying out a risk assessment as there was no evidence from the employer that her working conditions put her at risk. The employee is intending to appeal to the House of Lords.

Implications for employers:

  • This is an important decision for employers who are now less exposed to sex discrimination claims in such circumstances as it will be harder for employees to establish that discrimination took place.
  • In cases under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 the employee always has to prove a prima facie case of sex discrimination. Previous cases have set this threshold at a very low level. The level now appears to be higher.
  • However if a similar dismissal does take place the timing i.e straight after return from maternity leave will not of itself show a prima facie case of discrimination against the employer.
  • There must be some other link in addition to the timing which suggests there may be a discriminatory reason for the dismissal, thereby enabling the employee to get the claim off the ground.
  • An employee wishing to claim discrimination also now needs to show more than mere differences in status or treatment to force the employer to show that they have not discriminated. There needs to be something more than that.
  • Despite this decision obviously the safest, most cautious, course of action for employers is always to try and avoid dismissing employees (or selecting them for redundancy) whilst they are pregnant, or during/upon return from maternity leave.

New Book-Employment Law

An Introduction for HR and Business Students

 
 
Kathy Daniels
 
Pages: 288   Published: March 2008
 
ISBN: 1843981882
ISBN13: 9781843981886
 
Price: £24.99
 


Description
 
 
Employment Law can be a challenging subject for students who have no prior experience of studying or working with Law.

Employment Law: An Introduction for HRM and Business Students is an ideal text for those business students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses who are taking a module in Employment Law. It covers a comprehensive range of topics enabling students to gain a solid understanding of the key principles of the subject. The engaging, authoritative writing style and range of learning features make this a refreshingly accessible and student-friendly read.

This new edition has been thoroughly updated, and includes expanded coverage of the impact of EU Law, and Discrimination Law including ageism, sexual orientation, religious belief, harassment and disability.

Each chapter includes summaries of topical and relevant cases, direction to key sources of legal information and suggestions for further reading while covering the CIPD Standards for the Employment Law elective on the Professional Development Scheme (PDS).

This text includes a range of case studies, tasks and examples to consolidate learning and includes a brand new section on Employment Law study skills to help students get to grips with how to access and read law reports, understand the sources of the law, find and use up-to-date legal information (particularly websites) and how to prepare for exams and written assignments.
  
 
Contents
 
Cases referred to in this book
Legislation referred to in this book
Preface
Acknowledgements

Studying Employment Law
The Formation of Employment Law
The Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal
Contract of Employment
Atypical Contracts and the Variation of Contracts
Individual Protection Rights
Discrimination (1)
Discrimination (2)
Termination of Employment (1)
Termination of Employment (2)
Trade Union Legislation
Privacy and Confidential Information
Health and Safety Legislation

Useful Websites
Index.
  
 
About the author(s)
 
Kathy Daniels

Kathy teaches at Aston Business School and is a tutor for ICS Ltd in Employment Law and related topics. She is also a tutor on the Advanced Certificate in Employment for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. She is a fellow of the CIPD. She is a lay member of the Employment Tribunals, sitting in Birmingham. Prior to these appointments she was a Senior Personnel Manager in the manufacturing sector. Kathy has also written for a number of other CIPD texts including ''Employee Relations in an Organisational Context'', ''Equality, Diversity and Discrimination'' with Lynda Macdonald, and the forthcoming textbook from the Aston Centre of Human Resources, ''Strategic Human Resource Management: Building Research-Based Practice''.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Mediation at Workplace

The Gibbons review heard evidence that early mediation or conciliation in the workplace is the key to resolving disputes before irretrievable breakdown in relations occurs.The issue is how far it may be possible to place more weight on such "alternative dispute resolution" mechanisms so as to reduce the volume of claims reaching employment tribunals and improve the quality of outcomes. How far can experience of resolving disputes in other areas such as family or commercial law be applied to the field of employment? 

Workplace conflict damages business performance by reducing levels of employee engagement.

CIPD supports the view that there is a clear business case for mediation, which can be summarized as follows:

    * Time - mediation is often completed in one meeting, compared with the two days or more typically required for tribunal hearings

    * Legal representation for the parties is optional and, in the absence of a legal framework, less critical to outcomes

    * Proceedings are confidential so that parties are less likely to be trapped by positions adopted earlier

    * Mediation takes a problem-solving approach to complaints, which reduces disruption and future problems

    * Agreement is less likely to mean that one party wins and the other loses, leading to lower employee turnover

    * The process is evidently fair since both parties contribute to finding a solution

    * "Win-win" solutions support trust-based relationships and a culture of good people management.

Constraints on the use of mediation

How far can mediation be expected to take more of the strain of handling workplace conflict? Some employers, particularly in the public sector, have invested in training their staff to undertake mediation; others make use of mediation services provided  external sources. However mediation is not the only option for organisations that seek to reduce or deal with workplace conflict. Investigations by outside persons may help to create a shared understanding of the facts which will facilitate early resolution. Employee Assistance Programmes can also be useful in providing employees with a way of raising issues which are worrying them.

More generally, mediation is likely to be most effective where organisations have in place training and support for line managers in people management skills. Our members' experience suggests that, where such training has taken place, matters relating to alleged breaches of discipline or complaints by employees have been handled competently and concluded effectively. HR managers can support line management to restore trust-based relationships that have been disturbed by complaints including those related to discrimination, harassment and bullying.

However CIPD survey findings suggest that such training is not as common as it might be:

    * only 30% of respondents train any employees in mediation skills

    * training is more common in the public services (53%) than in other sectors (manufacturing and production 15%)

    * 1in 4 employers use internal mediation

    * 1 in 5 employers use external mediation (e.g. ACAS).

"Transactional" mediation and compromise agreements

A distinction can be drawn between "relational" mediation, which aims to produce a meeting of minds between the parties, and "transactional" mediation, which is primarily aimed at agreeing a settlement figure – perhaps with some conditions - which will compensate the employee for losing his or her job. Where a complaint has been resolved internally within an organisation through relational mediation, a compromise agreement may be considered as a means of endorsing the outcome. With the passage of time from an initial conflict emerging, the chances of successful relational mediation diminish but there may still be value in pursuing transactional mediation as a way of "drawing a line" under the relationship.

 Where the aim is to agree a compensation figure in return for an employee leaving the organisation, whether or not there is a process of mediation, employers increasingly rely on concluding a compromise agreement with the employee. This is in order to ensure that no further statutory claims can be brought against the employer in respect of the employee's service with the employer. The Government should recognize the value of compromise agreements in resolving issues in a way that meets the interests of both employer and employee, without the use of statutory machinery, provided that the employee receives independent advice. 

 

Unfair Dismissal

 

A dismissal may be fair or unfair depending on the circumstances of the dismissal.


You need to work through the following four steps to identify whether you can make a claim for unfair dismissal:-

Step one: who cannot claim unfair dismissal

There are some employees who can never claim unfair dismissal. They are:-

People who are not employees, such as independent contractors or freelance agents. Employers often claim that people who are actually employees are self-employed. It is important to check the relationship between the employee and their 'employer', because this will determine the employee's actual employment status .

 See my full article at:

http://www.citehr.com/unfair-dismissal-vt16349.html

 

Peoples' SAARC Declaration -2007


"People'summits",since 2000 held annually parallel to the South Asian Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC)Summit aims to promote people to people dialogues,exchanges and linkages in South Asia to address Regional issues.

This joint civil society initiative provides a platform to act on a "people's agenda" and helps civil society to engage with national governments and regional Institutions. The participation of Afghanistan in the 6th People's summit was welcomed in which more than 200 people from 8 countries participated in New Delhi.

Prof.Madurasinghe was a member of the Drafting team.

Read Full Text

A Brief History of Human Rights

Societies have located the beginnings of human rights in religious documents. The Vedas, the Bible, the Qur'an and the Analects of Confucius are some of the oldest written sources which address questions of people’s duties, rights, and responsibilities. Some early reforms were reflected in the biblical books of Chronicles and Ezra, which state that Cyrus released the followers of Judaism from slavery and allowed them to migrate back to their land.

Read Article

Religious Pluralism

Religious Pluralism

Religious pluralists point out that nearly all religious texts are a combination of an assortment of human observations documented, for example, as historical narratives, poetry, and morality plays. Accordingly, a distinction exists between what may be claimed as literal in a religious text and what may be metaphorical. The text, therefore, is open to interpretation. In this light, no religion is able to comprehensively capture and communicate all truth.Although all religions attempt to capture reality, their attempts occur within particular cultural and historical contexts that affect the writer's viewpoint.

Adherents of religious pluralism, in this sense, hold that their faith is "true". That is, their religion is the most complete and accurate revelation of the divine available, yet they also accept that other religions teach many truths about the nature of God and man, and which establish a significant amount of common ground.

Read Article

Hinduism and New Ageism

Hinduism and New Ageism

Hinduism is a set of beliefs and traditions which have evolved over a vast period of time. There is no central organization like a Church to control its movements or progress. The word Hindu is derived from the river Sindhu, or Indus, primarily a geographical term that referred to India or to a region of India (near the Sindhu). Hinduism entered the English language in the early 19th century to describe the beliefs and practices of those residents of India who practice the ancient believes of India and did not practice Islam or Christianity.

A common manner of describing Hinduism among its adherents is as a way of life, as "Dharma." It defies dogma and thus seeks to instead align the human body, mind, and soul in harmony with nature.

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Buddhism

Buddhism

Many hold the view that Buddhism is a philosophy, but the Buddha did not preach mere philosophical or intellectual theories. The Dhamma (Buddha’s teachings) deals with reality and truths which Buddhists believe that they can verify by personal experience. Unlike a philosophy, this shows a path that leads to the elimination of all forms of suffering and release from conditioned existence. One can discuss endlessly whether Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy; - It is a way of life. In fact, some of the ancient teachings are very much in keeping with modern scientific thought, therefore some even call it a 'Science of Life'.

Read Article

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Human Rights and Governance



An article I contributed to the Bar Association Journal 2007 Vol X111 ISBN: 1391-1198


Various developing countries that are quite similar in terms of their natural resources and social structure have shown strikingly different performance in improving the welfare of their people. Why is this? Research suggests that some countries do better than others because they have 'good governance' and a good human rights record. Good governance and human rights are a vital part in ensuring country’s progress with justice & fair play.

140 years ago Daniel Webster had this to say at Justice Story’s funeral :
Justice sir, is the greatest interest of man on earth. It is the ligament which holds civilized beings and nations together. It is the end of civil society. Justice is truth in action and make the legal system in each country viable as an instrument of national fulfillment.

Justinian in the Institutes says:
Justice is the earnest and constant will to render to every man his due. The precepts of the law are these:

To live honourably ; To injure no other man ; To render to every man his due.
Governance is the process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights. Good governance accomplishes this in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with due regard for the rule of law. The true test of "good" governance is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The key question is: are the institutions of governance effectively guaranteeing the right to health, adequate housing, sufficient food, quality education, fair justice and personal security?

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Concerning governance The Commission on Human Rights has emphasized the following:

Recognizing the need for a closer examination of the role of good governance for the promotion of human rights and the relationship between good governance practices and the promotion and protection of all human rights in all countries,

1. Recognizes that transparent, responsible, accountable and participatory government, responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people, is the foundation on which good governance rests, and that such a foundation is a sine qua non for the promotion of human rights;

2. Emphasizes, in this context, the need to promote partnership approaches to international development cooperation and to ensure that prescriptive approaches to good governance do not impede such cooperation;

3. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to invite all States to provide practical examples of activities that have been effective in strengthening good governance practices for the promotion of human rights at the national level, including activities in the context of development cooperation between States, for inclusion in a compilation of indicative ideas and practices that could be consulted by the interested States when required;

The Commission also requested the High Commissioner to invite States to provide practical examples of activities that have been effective in promoting good governance, including through development cooperation.

HUMAN RIGHTS


Societies have located the beginnings of human rights in religious documents. The Vedas, the Bible, the Qur'an and the Analects of Confucius are some of the oldest written sources which address questions of people’s duties, rights, and responsibilities.

Several theoretical approaches have been advanced to explain how human rights become part of social expectations. The biological theory , natural law theories and an "interests theory" defense of human rights.

Ultimately, the term "human rights" is often itself an appeal to a transcendent principle, not based on existing legal concepts. The term "humanism" refers to the developing doctrine of such universally applicable values. The term "human rights" has replaced the term "natural rights" in popularity, because the rights are less and less frequently seen as requiring natural law for their existence.

VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights Violation is abuse of people in a way that it abuses any fundamental human rights. It is a term used when a government violates national or international law related to the protection of human rights.

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, fundamental human rights are violated when, among other things:

* A certain race, creed, or group is denied recognition as a "person". (Articles 2 & 6)
* Men and women are not treated as equal. (Article 2)
* Different racial or religious groups are not treated as equal. (Article 2)
* Life, liberty or security of person are threatened. (Article 3)
* A person is sold as or used as a slave. (Article 4)
* Cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment is used on a person (such as torture or execution). (Article 5) (See also Prisoners' rights)
* Victims of abuse are denied an effective judicial remedy. (Article 8)
* Punishments are dealt arbitrarily or unilaterally, without a proper and fair trial. (Article 11)
* Arbitrary interference into personal, or private lives by agents of the state. (Article 12)
* Citizens are forbidden to leave or return to their country. (Article 13)
* Freedom of speech or religion are denied. (Articles 18 & 19)
* The right to join a trade union is denied. (Article 23)
* Education is denied. (Article 26)

MONITORING

Human rights violations and abuses include those documented by non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, World Organisation Against Torture, Freedom House, International Freedom of Expression Exchange and Anti-Slavery International.

Only a very few countries do not commit significant human rights violations, according to Amnesty International. In their recent human rights reports the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Costa Rica are the only countries that did not violate at least some human rights significantly

MILLENNIUM REPORT

In his Millennium Report, We the peoples, the Secretary-General emphasized that "better governance means greater participation, coupled with accountability. Therefore, the international public domain – including the United Nations – must be opened up further to the participation of the many actors whose contributions are essential to managing the path of globalization … For the United Nations, success in meeting the challenges of globalization ultimately comes down to meeting the needs of peoples. It is in their name that the Charter was written; realizing their aspirations remains our vision for the twenty-first century."

ANCIENT SYSTEMS

Ancient history is replete with examples of good governance and Kautilya says in his Arthashastra: "In the happiness of his subject likes the king's happiness, in their welfare his welfare. He shall not consider as good only that which pleases him but treat as beneficial to him whatever pleases his subject".

2000 years ago, Tiruvalluvar, in Tamilnadu spelt out in 1330 verses the three purusharthas of existence, dharma, artha and kama. In his chapter on artha, like Kautilya's Arthashastra, he also dealt with the characteristics of a well-run administration or shall we say the ethics of good administration.

Justice M Rama Jois in his Shri Bhau Lecture Series gave a talk entitled
"Reforming our polity on the basis of Dharma". In this talk he has provided valuable insights into the concept of Dharma. This is what he says:
From most ancient times, as a part of Dharma, one of the ideals placed before individuals was that for a higher or greater interest, lower or personal interest should be subordinated.

Idealism is incorporated in a verse in Hitopadesha; It reads "Sub ordinate the interest of an individual for the sake of the family, of the family to sub-serve the interest of the village, of the village in the interest of the state, of all wordly interest in order to attain eternal bliss".

The Arthashastra talks about the principles of governance and lays down rules of administration. It also discusses in detail the role of the king, his duties, rate of taxation, use of espionage, and laws for governing the society. The Indica of Megasthenes, on the other hand, gives a vivid description of the Mauryan society under the rule of Chandragupta. Megasthenes described the glory of the Mauryan capital of Pataliputra. He also talked of the lifestyle in the cities and villages and the prosperity of the Mauryan cities.

Ashoka believed in high ideals, which, according to him, could lead people to be virtuous, and peace loving. This he called Dhamma .His rock edicts and pillar inscriptions propagated the true essence of Dhamma. Ashoka asked the different religious groups (Brahmins, Buddhist and Jain) to live in peace. His lofty ideals also included shunning violence and war, stopping animal sacrifice, respect for elders, respect of slaves by their masters, vegetarianism, etc. Above all, Ashoka wanted peace in his empire.

Ashoka believed that the King should look upon his subjects as a father treats his children. He took care of his subjects in various ways and was responsible for carrying out a lot of welfare activities during his reign like building of roads, planting of trees along these roads, wells, rest houses for travelers, hospitals for the sick, etc. The Dhamma Mahamattas (officers responsible for promoting the policy of Dhamma) looked after these welfare activities across the empire. Ashoka had a friendly relation with his neighbors and sent and received envoys to/from them.
Many United Nations documents have this to say about governance:

GOVERNANCE

The concept of "governance" is not new. It is as old as human civilization. Simply put "governance" means: the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). Governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance.

Since governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, an analysis of governance focuses on the formal and informal actors involved in decision-making and implementing the decisions made and the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decision.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

Good governance is achieved under a democratic political system in which the actions of all sectors contribute to the good of society. It is most likely to occur when the government sector has high quality public sector institutions and when the nation has a strong civil society.

Good governance means an institution's activities are transparent and open to public examination.

Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society.

Participation

Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives.

Rule of law

Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force.

Transparency

Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such .

Responsiveness

Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.

Consensus oriented

There are several actors and as many view points in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved..

Equity and inclusiveness

A society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society.

Effectiveness and efficiency

Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal.

Accountability

Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law.

GOOD GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS


Good governance and human rights develop together. Outlined below are some key principles of good governance and their link to human rights.

Democratic government and processes

A truly democratic government cannot occur unless individuals have guaranteed civil and political rights.

The primacy of the rule of law

The primacy of the rule of law and an impartial legal system protects the civil rights of all people in relation to their property, personal security and liberty. The legal and judicial system should be independent of the government so that it can serve the interests of its citizens rather than a particular political party.

A strong civil society

Civil society is about people contributing to the governing of their country through their participation in the community. It is difficult to participate if you are poor, unemployed, hungry, homeless and uneducated. People who live under these conditions are being denied their economic, social and cultural rights.

Careful management of the national economy

A government which does not manage its economy well will not have enough resources to guarantee basic human rights. However, if these rights are not met it is difficult to create the accountable and transparent institutions so vital to good governance and to sustainable development.

Good governance is an ideal which is difficult to achieve in its totality. Very few countries and societies have come close to achieving good governance in its totality. However, to ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards this ideal with the aim of making it a reality.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Seven Steps of Bible Study- LUMKO Method



Steps 1-4 help us to "persevere" with God, to "Iisten" to participate in the biblical action, "to surrender ourselves to God".

Step 5 brings us together as brothers and sisters because we risk sharing our experience with God with one another. This is not the most important step, but it gives great joy to all those who want to build and experience a deeply human community in God.

In step 6 we confront our life with the Word of God. It is often the case that in this atmosphere of prayer, individuals discuss problems which they wish to resolve as a group.

In step 7 all are invited to share in spontaneous prayer.


FIRST STEP: We invite the Lord

Once the group settles down, the facilitator asks someone to volunteer "to invite the Lord". The belief in the living presence of the Risen Christ in our midst is the presupposition and basis of our meditation.

We want to meet the Word who became flesh and dwells among us. We remember Jesus´ promise: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I shall be there with them." (Mt 18,20).


SECOND STEP: We read the text

The facilitator announces the chosen text. First the book, then the chapter. He/she waits until everyone has found the chapter and only then does be announce the verse.

When everyone has found the passage, the facilitator invites someone to volunteer to read the text. A moment of silence follows.


THIRD STEP: We dwell on the text

The facilitator continues: "We dwell on the text. Which words strike you in a special way?"

In doing so, almost the entire text is listened to again. The participants spontaneously read aloud the word or words that have impressed them. Whole verses are not read, only short phrases or individual words.

The participants are encouraged to repeat those words silently to themselves three or four times. It is extremely important that a moment of silence be kept after each person has spoken, allowing the message to "soak in". As a result of this step, "simple" words often take on new meaning.


FOURTH STEP: We are quiet

After spending time on the individual word, the entire passage is read again slowly. Then the facilitator announces a time of silence, giving the exact length of time, for example, three minutes.

We advise the people to spend this time in silence before God. "We are open to God." "We allow ourselves to be loved by him." "We let God look at us."

A helpful practice during this silence is to repeat a specific word.

Meditation: Simply to be open to God, to wait for him, to be with him, "in fact he is not far from any of us" (Acts 17,27).


FIFTH STEP: We share what we have heard in our hearts

After the time of quiet, the facilitator announces the next step: "We share with each other what we have heard in our hearts."

We do this to share with one another our faith experience and to help each other to grow in the faith. The entire Sacred Scripture is nothing less than a God experience which the People of Israel and Jesus "share" with us.

It is somewhat strange that we can talk to friends about almost every aspect of our life yet when it comes to sharing with others our experience with God, we become shy. In this Bible meditation method, however, anyone can learn "to risk" this sharing in a very natural and unpressured way.


SIXTH STEP: We search together

The facilitator announces: "We search together."

Now the time has come for the participants to examine their lives in the light of the Gospel. At this stage, a basic community might discuss everyday problems as:

Someone needs help in the neighborhood...
Children need instruction in the faith...
Who will lead the the Word next Sunday, since the Pastor will not be there?...
How can we settle a discord that has arisen?...
What can we do about getting the street lamp repaired?...

None of these problems need to have a direct connection to the Bible passage which had been read and shared. However, they emerge and can be resolved because of the mutual confidence that now exists in an atmosphere of the presence of God. Things look different when God is allowed to be present.


SEVENTH STEP: We pray together

The facilitator now invites everyone to pray.

The words of Scripture, the various experiences of God´s Word, the daily problems - these all become fuel for prayer. Some find this form of sharing in prayer the easiest way to communicate with others.

The participants are encouraged to incorporate in their personal prayer whatever has been of special importance to them during the meditation.

Only at the end is a formal prayer known to everyone recited

 

Is the Anglican Social Doctrine Inadequate for Church of Ceylon to look Toward Karl Marx?

 

Views I sent to the Anglican Church Sri Lanka in October 2007

Annual Council sessions were held at the Anglican Cathedral on Saturday 20 th October, 2007.

Around 37 voted against the resolution while 47 abstained. Thus it is an  indicator that a majority of those present were not in favor of such changes being implemented at this stage without deeper reflection.

A  reporter said that "Winds of change have blown into the Church of Ceylon, better known as the Anglican Church, as the leaders of the traditionally conservative Christian denomination passed a seemingly revolutionary resolution that could shake the foundations of one of the oldest churches of the country".

Similarly, Anglican church worldwide is facing many problems at present. Today's news from overseas says:

The President of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa(CAPA), Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, says that Anglican crises hinge on leadership, doctrine -    in which the failure of the instruments of the Communion to exercise discipline had called into question the viability of the Anglican Communion as a united Christian body under a common foundation of faith, as is supposed by the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral. Due to this breakdown of discipline, we are not sure that we can in good conscience continue to spend our time, our money and our prayers on behalf of a body that proclaims two Gospels: the Gospel of Christ and the Gospel of Sexuality," he added.

It is my view that at a juncture such as this we need to exercise greater caution and have a finer grasp of deeper theoretical underpinnings before such resolutions are passed. The reporter expressed surprise that the resolution which was loaded with complicated wordings, was passed with surprisingly less resistance and justified the necessity for this fundamental "paradigm shift" as a necessity for the church "in the context of the present post-modern political, social, economic and cultural reality in Sri Lanka".

What disturbed me more was a statement of Fr. Selvan who proposed the motion mentioned during his speech, a synthesis between the teachings of Jesus and Karl Marx .

Even though it did not elaborate, it further said that The Bishop of Colombo made a few telling observations in support of the resolution before it went into voting while only one priest spoke against the resolution and tried unsuccessfully to bring an amendment to the clause on "paradigm shift" calling it to be changed rather into "Return to the teachings of Jesus".

The resolution also called the members of the church to "work towards a life style of the poor" which some speakers criticized as "impractical" before it was passed .

What Fr. Selvan must remember is that Marxism left  a sad heritage of economic and ecological destruction. Capitalism,   has failed to bridge the distance between rich and poor and is giving rise to a worrying degradation of personal dignity through drugs, alcohol and deceptive illusions of happiness.

Both capitalism and Marxism promised to point out the path for the creation of just structures, and they declared that these, once established, would function by themselves and this ideological promise has proven false. 

Even though we must  reaffirm the church's preference for the poor, we must not lose sight of the fact that social change begins with the transformation of the individual believer.

My mind goes back to the words of Paul VI in his "Profession of Faith" "We profess our faith that the Kingdom of God, begun here below in the Church of Christ, is not of this world, whose form is passing away, and that its own growth cannot be confused with the progress of civilization, of science, and of human technology, but that it consists in knowing ever more deeply the unfathomable riches of Christ, to hope ever more strongly in things eternal, to respond ever more ardently to the love of God, to spread ever more widely grace and holiness among men. But it is this very same love which makes the Church constantly concerned for the true temporal good of mankind as well. Never ceasing to recall to her children that they have no lasting dwelling here on earth, she urges them also to contribute, each according to his own vocation and means, to the welfare of their earthly city, to promote justice, peace and brotherhood among men, to lavish their assistance on their brothers, especially on the poor and the most dispirited. The intense concern of the Church, the bride of Christ, for the needs of mankind, their joys and their hopes, their pains and their struggles, is nothing other than the great desire to be present to them in order to enlighten them with the light of Christ, and join them all to Him, their only Savior . It can never mean that the Church is conforming to the things of this world, nor that she is lessening the earnestness with which she awaits her Lord and the eternal Kingdom."

Analyzing the issues further , H.H The Pope Benedict XV1, then writing as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger responded:

The warning of Paul VI remains fully valid today: Marxism as it is actually lived out poses many distinct aspects and questions for Christians to reflect upon and act on. However, it would be "illusory and dangerous to ignore the intimate bond which radically unites them, and to accept elements of the Marxist analysis without recognizing its connections with the ideology, or to enter into the practice of class-struggle and of its Marxist interpretation while failing to see the kind of totalitarian society to which this process slowly leads."

The acute need for radical reforms of the structures which conceal poverty and which are themselves forms of violence, should not let us lose sight of the fact that the source of injustice is in the hearts of men. Therefore it is only by making an appeal to the moral potential of the person and to the constant need for interior conversion, that social change will be brought about which will be truly in the service of man. For it will only be in the measure that they collaborate freely in these necessary changes through their own initiative and in solidarity, that people, awakened to a sense of their responsibility, will grow in humanity.

The class struggle as a road toward a classless society is a myth which slows reform and aggravates poverty and injustice. Those who allow themselves to be caught up in fascination with this myth should reflect on the bitter examples history has to offer about where it leads. They would then understand that we are not talking here about abandoning an effective means of struggle on behalf of the poor for an ideal which has no practical effects. On the contrary, we are talking about freeing oneself from a delusion in order to base oneself squarely on the Gospel and its power of realization.

One of the conditions for necessary theological correction is giving proper value to the social meaning of the Church. This teaching is by no means closed. It is, on the contrary, open to all the new questions which are so numerous today. In this perspective, the contribution of theologians and other thinkers in all parts of the world to the reflection of the Church is indispensable today.

Impatience and a desire for results has led certain Christians, despairing of every other method, to turn to what they call "Marxist analysis. " . Their reasoning is this: an intolerable and explosive situation requires effective action which cannot be put off. Effective action presupposes a scientific analysis of the structural causes of poverty. Marxism now provides us with the means to make such an analysis, they say.

It is true that Marxist thought ever since its origins, and even more so lately, has become divided and has given birth to various currents which diverge significantly from each other. To the extent that they remain fully Marxist, these currents continue to be based on certain fundamental tenets which are not compatible with the Christian conception of humanity and society. In this context, certain formulas are not neutral, but keep the meaning they had in the original Marxist doctrine. This is the case with the "class-struggle." This expression remains pregnant with the interpretation that Marx gave it, so it cannot be taken as the equivalent of "severe social conflict", in an empirical sense. Those who use similar formulas, while claiming to keep only certain elements of the Marxist analysis and yet to reject the analysis taken as a whole, maintain at the very least a serious confusion in the minds of their readers.

Let us recall the fact that atheism and the denial of the human person, his liberty and rights, are at the core of the Marxist theory. This theory, then, contains errors which directly threaten the truths of the faith regarding the eternal destiny of individual persons. Moreover, to attempt to integrate into theology an analysis whose criterion of interpretation depends on this atheistic conception is to involve oneself in terrible contradictions. What is more, this misunderstanding of the spiritual nature of the person leads to a total subordination of the person to the collectivity, and thus to the denial of the principles of a social and political life which is in keeping with human dignity.

When modes of interpretation are applied to the economic, social, and political reality of today, which are themselves borrowed from Marxist thought, they can give the initial impression of a certain plausibility, to the degree that the present-day situation in certain countries is similar to what Marx described and interpreted in the middle of the last century. On the basis of these similarities, certain simplifications are made which, abstracting from specific essential factors, prevent any really rigorous examination of the causes of poverty and prolong the confusion.

In its positive meaning the Church of the poor signifies the preference given to the poor, without exclusion, whatever the form of their poverty, because they are preferred by God. The expression also refers to the Church of our time, as communion and institution and on the part of her members, becoming more fully conscious of the requirement of evangelical poverty.

But the "theologies of liberation", which reserve credit for restoring to a place of honor the great texts of the prophets and of the Gospel in defense of the poor, go on to a disastrous confusion between the poor of the Scripture and the proletariat of Marx. In this way they pervert the Christian meaning of the poor, and they transform the fight for the rights of the poor into a class fight within the ideological perspective of the class struggle . For them the Church of the poor signifies the Church of the class which has become aware of the requirements of the revolutionary struggle as a step toward liberation and which celebrates this liberation in its liturgy .

A further remark regarding the expression, Church of the People, will not be out of place here. From the pastoral point of view, this expression might mean the favored recipients of evangelization to whom, because of their condition, the Church extends her pastoral love first of all. One might also refer to the Church as people of God, that is, people of the New Covenant established in Christ.

 But the "theologies of liberation" mean by Church of the People a Church of the class, a Church of the oppressed people whom it is necessary to "conscientize" in the light of the organized struggle for freedom. For some, the people, thus understood, even become the object of faith.

Building on such a conception of the Church of the People, a critique of the very structures of the Church is developed. It is not simply the case of fraternal correction of pastors of the Church whose behavior does not reflect the evangelical spirit of service and is linked to old-fashioned signs of authority which scandalize the poor. It has to do with a challenge to the sacramental and hierarchical structure of the Church, which was willed by the Lord Himself.

The partisan conception of truth, which can be seen in the revolutionary praxis of the class, corroborates this position. Theologians who do not share the theses of the "theology of liberation", the hierarchy, are thus discredited in advance as belonging to the class of the oppressors. Their theology is a theology of class. Arguments and teachings thus do not have to be examined in themselves since they are only reflections of class interests. Thus, the instruction of others is decreed to be, in principle, false.

The new hermeneutic inherent in the "theologies of liberation" leads to an essentially political re-reading of the Scriptures. Thus, a major importance is given to the Exodus event inasmuch as it is a liberation from political servitude. Likewise, a political reading of the "Magnificat" is proposed. The mistake here is not in bringing attention to a political dimension of the readings of Scripture, but in making of this one dimension the principal or exclusive component. This leads to a reductionist reading of the Bible.

Faith in the Incarnate Word, dead and risen for all men, and whom "God made Lord and Christ" is denied. In its place is substituted a figure of Jesus who is a kind of symbol who sums up in Himself the requirements of the struggle of the oppressed.

An exclusively political interpretation is thus given to the death of Christ. In this way, its value for salvation and the whole economy of redemption is denied.

 In a general way, this brings about what can be an inversion of symbols. Thus, instead of seeing, with St. Paul, a figure of baptism in the Exodus some end up making of it a symbol of the political liberation of the people.

Thus a great call goes out to all the Church: with boldness and courage, with far-sightedness and prudence, with zeal and strength of spirit, with a love for the poor which demands sacrifice, pastors will consider the response to this call a matter of the highest priority, as many already do.

The Catholic church provides a comprehensive set of guidelines in their " Compendium of Social Doctrine" : Section 12 says thus :

12. This document is proposed also to the brethren of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, to the followers of other religions, as well as to all people of good will who are committed to serving the common good : may they receive it as the fruit of a universal human experience marked by countless signs of the presence of God's Spirit. It is a treasury of things old and new (cf. Mt 13:52), which the Church wishes to share, in thanksgiving to God, from whom comes "every good endowment and ever perfect gift" ( Jas 1:17). It is a sign of hope in the fact that religions and cultures today show openness to dialogue and sense the urgent need to join forces in promoting justice, fraternity, peace and the growth of the human person.